DIY - fellowship and fun with your girls.

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I have found so many cute crafty ideas on Pintrest.com. I thought you could put several ideas together for a night of fun with the ladies. What is really great is that it is age inclusive, so your friends could bring their daughters with them. You could also use it for a youth girls fellowship time. So here are the links to some of my favorite DIY crafting projects:


1. Cute redesigned flipflops: buy cheap flip flops ($1.50 at Michael's). Cheap fabric from Jo Ann's or Walmart. http://www.popularpix.com/pic-61.html

2. Work-out tshirt: Cost is zero, literally! You just need an old t-shirt. Advise: I would not use a fem.cut tee.http://dollarssenseandmore.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/diy-tank-top-fashion-on-a-budget/ or http://blogilates.tumblr.com/post/20519729783/d-i-y-racerback-workout-shirt-materials-old

3. cute bracelets: wire, yarn, hot glue, and beads.http://www.hatingmartha.com/diy-bright-and-graphic-yarn-bracelets/

Let me know if you do any or all, and how it turns out!

Out of town is a little bit harder.

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We took our little fella to Charleston, SC yesterday. It was great to have a summertime out of town adventure for the little man. He really enjoyed himself. 

Eating, well that was a different story. Breakfast was GREAT! I found a small tucked away Cafe (http://www.charlestonscafe.com/cafe/about.html) that had yogurt, fresh fruit, and egg whites. 

Lunch? Well, let's just say that we had a great breakfast :). It's a new adventure everyday!

PS- Googled BHT last night. If you don't want to know, and just want to eat without thinking... do not read any further. BHT is in alot of meats and I even found it in cereal. It's a preservative... and an STD ointment. SERIOUSLY!!!???!!!

Day Two, Score...NOT!!!

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Monkey had a bit of a melt down last night. It was momentary, but heartbreaking as he realized that there are more things he will not be able to have. To cheer him up, we browsed the naturalcandystore.com. Otherwise he seems to be doing well. It's almost as if he is coming out of a fog. He is able to focus more, and can complete tasks.  

Cleaning out the pantry this weekend, so in the meantime I am making due with what I can. We decided Tacos would be good, hard shell so gluten free :). Darling Husband made a run to the boarder. Half way through eating I remembered... my son has a beef intolerence. SIGHHHHH!  So much for the good hard college try. I figured out about 3 weeks ago that I really just need to cook as many meals as possible. I am now realizing that I need to cook EVERY meal. 

Tomorrow is a new adventure, we will be away from home most of the day, so it should make for interesting food choices. I hear Olive Garden has Gluten free options. Hmmmm. 

Day 1

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Test results are in, and lots to work on. Our doctor recommends that we make changes in the little guys diet (which means the entire family's diet), by removing Gluten and BHT from his diet. There is also a list of Moderate and Mild intolerances that we need to keep in mind and avoid.

I actually had to pick the lesser of two evils for dinner. Darling Son loves hot dogs, and I had anticipated making hot dogs for dinner. As I checked the ingredients, I realized that there were celery and cherry additives in the hot dogs, which are both on his moderate list. Gluten being on the mild list, was the better one to go with for the night. Simple dinner (shown below) to help improve on our new adventure.

I was very excited that our local frozen yogurt shop has signs above the yogurts showing what is dye free and gluten free.

Growing up in the South puts me at such a disadvantage when it comes to food. If it ain't fried or sugared, then IDK what to do with it :). So much to learn on the long road ahead. 


Dinner:
Butterball sausage ( no BHT so that was a little blessing)
pasta
italian dressing
cherry tomatoes

corn bread

corn

A new journey begins....

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We have learned to be very watchful in the our household. My darling son had some troubles in school, and we started looking at what he was eating as part of the solution. Almost a year later, we have come a long way. 

Red dye was the first noticable one. I would like to say that it was an immediately obvious to me, but it really wasn't like that. I noticed that he ate some red foods, and soon after his cheeks turned red with a rash like appearance. That was the first clue. We cleared out the pantries of anything with red dye, but noticed an immediate change in demeanor if we slipped and missed something that he ingested. Hard to explain, except that if he ate or drank something with red dye, he would "bounce of the walls". He literally could not control himself. He COULD NOT do what he was told, and by outsiders would appear to be unruly and undisciplined. School... lets not even discuss school. Teachers would tell me all the time how intelligent he is, but he just could not finish his work. At home, I could only tell him one thing at a time to do, and still I would have to remind him constantly what he was supposed to be doing. He could not focus on that task and get it finished quickly. He was easily sidetracked and would forget what he was told to do within a minute of being told. It was like his brain was moving too fast, and he could not catch up. 

Fast forward a bit, I have noticed significant changes in his personality when he had dark colored carbonated  drinks, hot dogs, any blue dyes, and various other foods. We have cut those things out and noticed a substantial change. I can give him a job and he finishes it, and he might momentarily forget what I said but then will remind himself what I asked of him. It is almost as if he is coming out of the fog.

We have invested in some tolerance testing and are excited to see what this will mean for my little man. 

St. Patrick's Day Treasure Hunt | St. Patrick's Day Printables for Kids | FamilyFun

St. Patrick's Day Treasure Hunt | St. Patrick's Day Printables for Kids | FamilyFun:

This is a fun little "to do" for the kids on St. Patrick's Day. Here is a tip: After you do the treasure hunt, while your children are enjoying their treat; you can tell them all about St. Patrick and the three leaf clover. Here is a great link that will help you find out more about St. Patrick.

http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day?et_cid=38679633&et_rid=858536704&linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.history.com%2ftopics%2fst-patricks-day

'via Blog this'

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That's what it's all about!

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As I get older, I realize that so many things are changing. Suddenly I am "watching what I am eating.". That usually means that I keep an eyeball on the chocolate cake as I shovel it in my mouth. Which brings me to another change, the fact that I just can't get rid of that extra layer. I am certain that it is left over from Thanksgiving/Christmas celebration, and as soon as spring hits it will simply fall off... Then Easter will come.

I am realizing that my view on things have changed bit. Back in the day I would see a huge home, with 2 new cars, a boat, and maybe an RV parked around back; and I would think "Now that's what it is all about.". Now I see that and I think "man, I would hate to have all of those payments. That would STINK!". lol. That's what Dave Ramsey does for you :).

I saw something this morning, it was my son. He had just jumped out of my car, and was walking up the sidewalk and into the front doors of his school. Devon is not one to simply walk though, he was doin' a little dance as he walked. I laughed, almost to the point of crying. I watched him for as long as I could without getting run over by the mom behind me. As I drove away I thought, "Now that's what it's all about!"



Thank you God for giving me those moments! I love you Daddy!